Facebook's Messenger Kids app accused of violating children's privacy law


Several US groups advocating public and children's health have urged the federal trade regulators to take action against social media giant Facebook for allegedly violating children's privacy law.

The 18-member group led by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) on Wednesday said the groups have filed a complaint asserting that Facebook's Messenger Kids, a controversial messaging application for children as young as five, collects kids' personal information without obtaining verifiable parental consent, Xinhua reported.

Messenger Kids is the first major social platform designed specifically for young children, but Facebook's parental consent mechanism does not meet the requirements of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), said CCFC, which called on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to probe Facebook and take action against it.

Facebook Messenger Kids' privacy policy is incomplete and vague, because any adult user can approve any account created in the app and "even a fictional 'parent' holding a brand-new Facebook account could immediately approve a child's account without proof of identity," CCFC said.

It further accused Facebook of disclosing data to unnamed third parties for "broad, undefined business purposes." Read Complete Article

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